Buddy
by SassyRebelPilot
Summary: Poe Dameron is respected and beloved by all in the Resistance. But none more than his loyal astromech, BB-8. The little orange and white droid has been with the ace pilot since the beginning and would continue to be at his side to the very end.


Time was an interesting and yet somewhat vexing concept, even more so where droids were concerned. Sure a droid understood the process of measuring time, the effects it has and the finite nature of it; and yet they always seemed to remain just out of reach of its touch. A droid, in essence, could live forever...But one could spend years discussing the nature and sentience of a droid, such thoughts were for another time. Or so the little orange and white astromech told himself as his processors started to whirr to life.

BB-8 beeped and bwooped a few times as his sensors came online in order to take a look at the bright new world he now found himself in. That world oddly enough consisted of a pair of wide brown eyes and a wicked smile brighter than any sun he had on record in his general data banks.

[BB unit, designation 8] Did this, now identified, human understand binary? It was not terribly uncommon for humans to have a working knowledge of the droid language, but there was always a margin of error. Some people simply could not learn the language. Perhaps the, now identified, young man had a translation program on the datapad he was tapping away at?

When no immediate response came, BB-8 took this moment to swivel his head a few times in an attempt to further investigate his surroundings. It became clear that he had wires still sticking out of his various ports and tool bays. He was also missing a few panels.

[I'm naked...]

This remark prompted the human to snort before setting the datapad down and refocusing attention on the perplexed astromech, "I know buddy, you're not quite finished yet but I wanted to say hi anyway," in his hand was a soldering tool, "I'm Poe by the way, Poe Dameron."

Poe Dameron? BB-8 chirped before searching the name within his data banks. It was a simple task at best and one that yielded information quickly. This human was a cadet in the Republic Fleet Academy, top marks in flight simulations, above average everywhere else it seemed. Though with the number of citations and notes in regards to him being reckless and prone to disobedience, but aside from all of that an otherwise well-liked human.

"Not super chatty huh? That's alright."

Watching closely and listening as Poe returned to the task at hand, in this case, it was soldering some wires that looked to belong to a droid sized torch. He spoke of where he came from and what brought him to the academy, his parents, his hopes, and dreams. Most of which the astromech already knew from his initial search. But it was nice, BB-8 found he could listen to this human talk for hours...and he did.

* * *

BB-8 sat silently, locked into his charging station and was going over a few updates. Poe was off on one of his less adventurous missions, one that didn't call for a starfighter, much less an astromech. It was during these rare moments that the little ball droid took his time with personal maintenance as well as going over data logs. Today, in particular, he had wanted to run some diagnostics with Black One but was at present avoiding the task. It was something that needed to be done, especially if he wanted the starfighter to be working at peak performance.

However, it was no secret, at least to every droid and astromech in the Resistance, that Black One was infamous for more than just being the iconic ship piloted by the best pilot they had. The striking starfighter was also known for being temperamental. Which was just a kinder way of saying Black One was a kriffing jerk.

A light bliped indicating a full charge, BB-8 detached from the charging port and went on his way. The shuttle bay was not very far from the droid station so it was only a matter of minutes before the starfighter came into view. There were a number of Resistance fighters going about their typical assignments, some greeted BB-8 as he rolled over to his own destination.

Being drawn up into the ship, the little droid was met with an almost instantaneous barrage of benign issues.

[Stop complaining, I'm not late.]

/Yes, you are, by exactly 1.257 seconds/

BB-8 blurpt out an expletive.

/You're never like this when Poe is around, I don't think he'd like it if I told him all the nasty things you say to me./

This didn't seem to bother the little astromech, BB-8 merely connected to Black One's systems and started the diagnostic.

[Black One is a snitch and everyone will know it.]

There was a sudden spark from where the hyperdrive engine was located, BB-8 knew that there wasn't anything initially wrong with it so the fact that it was sparking now suggested it was Black One's doing. Probably diverted some energy into places it shouldn't be, possibly causing it to overheat slightly? Whatever the case, he knew that his comment had irritated the ship. Not that he actually doubted Black One's loyalty. As far as T-70 class X-wings go, Black One was in many ways one of a kind. One could argue that that uniqueness was due to the temperamental nature...but that's neither here nor there.

Fixing the issue in a matter of seconds, BB-8 worked mostly in silence. Seeing to the more pressing matters first before moving on to the minor ones. Despite their constant bickering, both were actually a very good team. Though BB-8 couldn't really compare Black One to Poe, they did share a similar kind of camaraderie.

/When will Poe return?/ the question manifested itself after about an hour into maintenance, perhaps a record for Black One since being chatty as well as obnoxious was practically built into the starfighter. The question lingered for a brief moment.

[Another week] was BB-8's response, it was a long, diplomatic mission. Both knew that epic battles and adventures weren't the only ways to win wars. Perhaps Black One was missing Poe too?

/You are telling me I have to put up with you for another week all by myself?/

* * *

"It belonged to Poe Dameron. That was his name, right?"

This stranger knew Poe? BB-8 turned his head towards his new friend, Rey who seemed to be giving him a look of confirmation. Looking back towards the man on the ground, taser at the ready as he continued.

"He was captured by the First Order. I helped him escape," Hearing that this man had helped Poe sparked some hope within the little droid, but that hope all but melted away at what was said next, "but our ship crashed, Poe didn't make it. I tried to help him, I'm sorry."

It felt like someone had dropped him into a trash compactor, his motor functions seeming to fail at that moment, his head drooping in what could only be described as complete and utter devastation. Turning, BB-8 rolled away, tucking away the taser and running every possible scenario over and over. What could he have done differently to have prevented this? The most obvious one to rise to the surface was that he should have never left Poe alone.

Of course, the little droid knew that the man was more than capable of taking care of himself. They always worked together as a team be it side by side or not. This was also a war, perhaps it was only a matter of time before one of them met an untimely demise. But still, to escape First Order capture only to die in a crash? It didn't feel right...

 _'You need to get this map back to the Resistance, to Leia...'_

The mission, the map to Luke Skywalker, Poe would want him to complete the mission. It was important. There would be time to grieve after, right now he had to complete Poe's mission. But how? The girl, Rey, she didn't seem to have any desire to leave this planet, much less any means to do so. The man with Poe's jacket...something BB-8 wasn't so sure he was okay with...whoever he was could maybe help. But could he trust him?

* * *

The sight of Black One and more importantly, seeing the pilot exiting the cockpit, there was no hesitation. BB-8 rolled past Finn with little regard and was greeted by the surprised but undoubtedly elated smile of his maker. Just seeing Poe alive was enough draw the happiest of beeps and chirps from the astromech. He also had his fair share of reprimands as well, after all, it was not a nice thing to make him worry like that.

But that aside, what the little ball droid wasn't fully expecting was to see Poe's reaction to seeing Finn. Watching as the pilot ran over to the ex-stormtrooper and greeting him with a huge hug, BB-8 followed close behind and studied the two men as they reconnected. Knowing the Resistance pilot for as long as he has, BB-8 knew what he was seeing and it was something he honestly wasn't expecting to see. Especially being directed towards Finn...

BB-8 didn't pretend to know or understand what it was that drove human attraction, but he knew the physical signs. Was someone like Finn really Poe's type? What had happened during his capture? He had his doubts about the other male but if Poe was this confident about Finn, perhaps he could give him an honest chance.

The sight of the injured Finn being carted out of the Resistance transport ship as well as watching as Poe followed alongside the prone form, BB-8 remained behind with Black One.

[I've never seen Poe like this before.]

/Like what? What are you complaining about now?/

[About Finn.]

/I really don't care. Hey, the guidance sequencing was off, how about instead of obsessing over unimportant things you sort out this problem./

BB-8 bleeped in annoyance but started looking into the problem all the same. After the destruction of the Starkiller Base, there would no doubt be some sort of retaliation. Black One had taken some light hits and if he wanted to ensure Poe's safety in the inevitable next battle, perhaps the starfighter was correct. Now wasn't the time to really dwell on Poe's increasingly obvious affection to the ex-stormtrooper.

/I think he likes the Finn human too./

* * *

After what could only be described as a decent win against the First Order, that dastardly order had somehow tracked the Resistance hyperspace location. Despite Poe's demotion he was ordered to carry out a counterattack against their pursuers. BB-8 had reached the hanger moments before Poe and was already about to load himself onto Black One when Poe came into view. But that wasn't what captured the droids attention.

His sensors suddenly went off when the distinct whistle of missile fire and subsequent explosion made him swivel his head in the direction of the blast. There was just a wall of fire before the blast wave sent not only himself but Poe as well flying back. Bouncing and clanging into next hall, head detaching causing a temporary system disconnect, BB-8 was able to pull himself back together in time to see the blast doors closing. Blocking off the view of the inferno as well as the broken wreckage that used to be Black One.

[Good bye friend...] they were in trouble...Poe came to that conclusion as well.

* * *

It had been his own choice to go with Finn and Rose. He knew he wouldn't be of any help to Poe here, but he could help the other two. If they were going to find this hacker and shut down this hyperspace tracker, they would probably need a droid. Or, perhaps a more appropriate thing to say was they needed all the help they could get. This mission sounded like a crap shoot, to begin with, but they really didn't have any other choice, did they?

The mission itself didn't really start off as well as it could have. With Finn landing in a rather public space, it drew unwanted attention. But time wasn't on their side so as long as they could find the person they were looking for it would be fine, right?

As it turned out, things absolutely did not go according to plan. BB-8 found himself allied with a rather dirty and studdering man. One look and he knew that this man really couldn't be trusted; however, enlight of their rather horrendous predicament, there was little choice. Their situation was dire and he was at least as skilled as he claimed to be. This DJ fellow.

But what could have been a blessing, turned out to be the curse the little droid suspected it to be. Everything had been playing out well, but perhaps it wasn't meant to be? Poe had managed to get in contact with them and from the sound of it, he was actually having a bit of trouble on his end. But then, so where they. A First Order BB unit had identified them, something the little orange and white astromech took mild offense to.

Was this the end though? Dismantled or worse, reprogrammed to work against those he considered friends and allies? Betrayed?

* * *

BB-8 wasn't really one to believe in the Force. It was a concept that was reserved mostly for carbon-based life forms. Poe certainly believed in it and perhaps now so could he. A well-timed collision had given BB-8 the chance to escape his own captors, which in turn allowed him to hijack a First Order ATST, which in turn allowed him to save Finn and Rose. When logic and probability was not in their favor, the impossible happened.

This was a situation that none of them should have survived, but here they were.

But they were not out of danger yet, they still needed to get down to the planet where the remaining Resistance fighters were. Where Poe was. Though BB-8 was uncertain of what Finn intended to do at this point, the ex-trooper was currently piloting the imperial shuttle they had commandeered.

"Where should we go?" the girl, Rose, had asked. She too had been thinking the same thing as the astromech but was the first to voice it.

"Where we belong..." was all Finn said.


End file.
